Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I made these gorgeous and delicious strawberries dipped in chocolate for my third grader's class party today. Needless to say, they sold out! The kids even came back for seconds for the heart shaped cantaloupe and pineapple I made with cookie cutters. For the strawberries, wash and dry them thoroughly. Do not use any that have soft spots. Break up a bitter or bittersweet bar of dark chocolate into a glass bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir. Keep microwaving and stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. The strawberries must be completely dry. Introducing a liquid into the chocolate can make it seize up and that is a really ugly thing and a waste of good chocolate. I like to user Trader Joe's South American unique origin chocolate for this. The Scharffenberger is great too but it's less viscous and therefore goes on a bit too thick.
Holding the strawberry by the hull, roll it three quarters of the way up in the chocolate. Allow excess to run off and then place on a parchment paper lined plate. Repeat with remaining strawberries, reheating the chocolate by microwaving for 5-7 seconds when it starts to cool and thicken too much to coat the strawberry properly. Let dry, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
These have been a big hit a kids' birthday parties where the parents stay. It's nice to spoil parents too.
